Did Joseph Parker's reputation go up or down last night?

Takam never was nor never could be a legit hw contender, especially losing to parker, maybe top 15 hw on a great night..

FIGHT backfired, was supposed to be parker showcase and the sad fact it really could've gone either way. Both ,again, showed how limited they are. Parker "could" have a chance against either futy, champ fury would be more ofva chance. He needs to stay far away grom AJ, DW, ortiz and haye. They all crush him inside 4/6 rounds tops

 

Cool, he still holds a solid ranking - watch and see (without holding my breath) how long it takes before Wilder or Joshua try him as a voluntary defence because he's so easy.

Nah, it definitely showed weaknesses but I think it was the right fight at the right time. People saying Takam is no serious contender are saying more about themselves than Takam. He will lose to all current belt holders, granted - he lost to Parker and I think Parker is not favourite (but has a chance) against all of them... so that's going to happen.

I ultimately agree... maybe more fight in it than you think but yeah, he's not ready. The thing which is disappointing in this forum is the amount of people who are clearly not real boxing fans and have the idea that if you aren't immediately capable of beating EVERYONE then you're a bum. That's just plain re****ed and sells everyone short.

Anyone with half a clue REALISES that Parker is not *yet* champion material, he is a work in progress. This fight was a step further than I would have liked right now because I could see the danger of it, but figured it pretty much a 52:48 in Parkers favour. The way it played out reflected that, and it COULD have easily gone the other way... he took a bigger step than a lot of people would have liked and he passed - and in doing so there are some HUGE bonuses:

1) He's proven to have bigger ***** than most of the guys in the top 15 in facing Takam

2) He proved to also have awesome intenstinal fortitude to get through some of the dark patches in that fight and adjust, keep going and make it work

3) He will have learnt SO much from that fight, I could see the change in thought process and approach going just into the later rounds as he realised what some of the lessons Barry was drumming into him were about - let alone after he's had time to absorb it, watch tape and reflect on it further.

Right now I'm not sure that 10 months are enough to prepare him for a win against Joshua.... but unless Joshua steps up from what he's fought so far he's also going to be in for a hard as hell night compared to his previous tests. The Parker AND Takam who were in the ring this weekend would have both hurt the Charles Martin who AJ won his title from, badly.

 

Well said Lith, well said.

 

Larry Holmes was teaching Parker how to throw decent jabs,twos and threes at a time.

 

Yep. Joe used his jab a bit poorly in this fight - but when it is on song it really smacks the opponents face hard and often.

 

I know there are flaws in Parker's game from a technical POV, but I seriously think he had basically no issues in this fight whatsoever that weren't related to fitness. The only times where he struggled were where his activity faded and he tried to catch a breath.

Is this concerning? Absolutely. But from a purely "skills" perspective I think it was a pretty encouraging performance.

 

Yep. Takam didn't like it, at all. He actually looked as bothered as I've seen him when Parker got his jab on. When Parker really gets into a solid habit of drive that thing in he's going to cause people some serious issues.

 

It was never meant to be a show case to make Parker look good. This fight was always a risk, which is why the declined the fight twice in 2015. Fact is Parker had limited options and needed to step up soon and fact is Takam was likely the only decent fighter with the desire to risk it against Parker.

As for Takam not being a legit contender he gave the supposedly 2nd best heavyweight on the planet in Povetkin a tough fight. Was up after 4 rounds and even on all the scorecards after 8 rounds.

Takam also drew with Perez who took Jennings another solid contender to a SD. He also beat Thompson by a wider margin on the scorecards than Pulev or Scott could do.

Takam has shown he belongs at the top level. He may never win a title and may never be regarded as a top contender, but he is a good enough fighter to give all but the very best heavies a tough night.

 

Up is the only logical answer. Best win of his career.

 

Up for a good win but it displayed a few flays - which is what happens as you step up. I'm still not sold he's going to be one of the top 3 guys in the division at any point but solid top 10 for sure

 

Reputation up, hype and expectations almost killed.

Dude has no defence whatsoever. Completely monodimensional. and a useless team that fills his head with dust and tells him he doesn't need anything more to balst away anybody.

It showed.

 

Sweet post :good

 

Agreed.

 

Parker's reputation went up. His ceiling for success went down a little. Povetkin ko'd a better version of Takam.

Tatum is decent. Better than anyone Wilder or Joshua beat.

 

His stock only went up. he showed heart, chin and grit, as well as real accuracy and power. He stepped up, bit down and won. Takam has proven himself to be a good contender. It's not like he went out there and struggled with a weak opponent. you have to give the man credit for the win. Also, if you look at it, Takam is arguably a tougher opponent than anyone AJ has faced thus far based strictly on performance and resume.